Tennessee tops Rutgers, claims seventh national title

In the biggest game of the season, her teammates went out and
proved it.

Parker scored 17 points to lead four players in double figures,
but it was the 3-point shooting of Shannon Bobbitt and dominant
rebounding of Nicky Anosike that carried the Lady Vols to a
59-46 victory over Rutgers in the NCAA Tournament championship
game at Quicken Loans Arena.

Tennessee (34-3) captured its tournament-record seventh national
title - and first since 1998 - under Hall of Fame coach Pat
Summitt.

"As sweet as ever," said Summitt, who improved to 7-5 in a
national final. "This is not about me winning No. 7. This is
about this team winning their first."

And the Lady Vols did win this one as a team. With Wade Trophy
winner Parker struggling with her shot (5-of-15 from the floor),
Bobbitt helped break the game open by hitting three 3-pointers
in a span of 2:43 midway through the second half. She finished
with 13 points.

Even when Bobbitt or Parker did miss, Anosike was there to sweep
the glass, pulling down 16 rebounds in an immense effort.

"All year it's been pick your poison," said Parker, who was
named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. "I think if you
take one option away we have four others and I was just proud
at how everybody came together and made corrections and
adjustments and we just took it to them."

Rutgers (27-9), meanwhile, came up short in its bid to become
the lowest seed - at No. 4 - and fell to 0-6 all-time against
the Lady Vols in the NCAA Tournament.

It was also a disappointment for Scarlet Knights coach C. Vivian
Stringer, who was seeking her first championship in her 36th
year of coaching.

"I've been coaching a long time and she's (Summitt) won eight or
nine of them so we would have like to have one," Stringer said.
"So it hurts a lot. Because as I was saying to the team, you
don't get to that point often in life, and I'm a living
testimony."

While Rutgers is known for its defense, the Lady Vols swung the
early momentum in their favor by denying the Scarlet Knights the
3-point shot that had been so effective in their national
semifinal victory over Louisiana State.

Summitt had two defenders swarm the ball as soon as Rutgers got
to mid-court, preventing the Scarlet Knights from getting into
their offense.

"It was our job to handle the pressure, and we didn't do a good
job of that tonight," Rutgers guard Essence Carson said.
"Usually throughout the season we did a great job of handling
any type of pressure ... but tonight that didn't happen.

"So it was a great game plan by coach Summitt and unfortunately
it didn't work in our favor."

Tennessee also set the tone by controlling the boards (23-12) in
the opening half, particularly on the defensive end, giving
Rutgers hardly any second-chance attempts. Anosike had eight
rebounds in the first 20 minutes and collected 10 offensive
boards for the game.

"I just think that coach said before the game, offense sells
tickets, defense wins games and rebounding wins championships,"
Anosike said. "And that really stuck with me throughout the
whole game. And I just tried to go out there and rebound to the
best of my ability."

"Now, notwithstanding Tennessee was big and all those things,
but they killed us on the boards," Stringer said.

Bobbitt, the shortest player in the game at 5-2, had the biggest
impact during the crucial point of the contest.

With Tennessee leading, 35-28, at the 13-minute mark, Bobbitt
triggered an 11-2 run in a span of 2:46 to put the Lady Vols in
control.

Bobbitt hit consecutive 3-pointers and made a steal that set up
a layup by Alexis Hornbuckle to cap an 8-0 run for a 43-28 lead
with 11:17 left.

After center Kia Vaughn - Rutgers' only consistent offensive
threat - hit a pair of free throws, Bobbitt responded by
connecting again from the arc to balloon the margin to 46-30
with 10:13 to go.

"I just definitely took what the defense gave me," Bobbitt said.
"I felt like I had enough room to release the ball. I stand
5-foot-2 so I definitely got to create space."

The Scarlet Knights did make one last charge, using a 7-0 run to
pull within 50-42 on a 3-pointer by Matee Ajavon with 2:33
left.

They did not get closer, though, as Parker hit six consecutive
free throws to keep Rutgers at bay.

"I think Candace Parker is the best player in the country,"
Summitt said. "And she makes everyone better. ... You got a
Candace Parker, you got a chance to win a national championship.
But it's not because she's the only player on our team. It's
because she makes everyone else better."

Vaughn finished with 20 points and 10 boards for Rutgers, which
finished just 2-of-10 from the arc and committed 18 turnovers.

"Maybe we read the headlines, maybe we realized it was a
national championship game," Stringer said. "We looked like we
were a deer stuck in the headlights."